Evaluation of the effect of children's and their parents' anxiety levels on bruxism and the effects of bruxism on the childrens quality of life

Bruxism is a parafunctional habit which has a multifactorial ethiology and is highly encountered in children in a wide age range. Bruxism may lead to issues such as tooth attrition, mobility and sensitivity, gingival recession, masseter muscle hypertrophy, head and face pain. It is not possible to have a definitive diagnosis with anamnesis and clinical examination. However, it may be possible to diagnose probable bruxism with anamnesis to be received from the patient and his/her parent and a detailed clinical examination. Today, there is still uncertainty about neurochemical mechanisms underlying bruxism. There is a consensus that ethiology of bruxism which remains unknown, is multifactorial. It is believed that besides demographic, clinical and psychological characteristics of children, family environment is a noteworthy factor in the emergence of bruxism in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the presence of probable bruxism in children aged 8 to 14 years and the presence of anxiety in children and parents. The sample of the study comprised 60 children, 30 of whom had probable bruxism (study group) and 30 of whom had no bruxism (control group). Anxiety level in the children was measured via The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). Anxiety level in the parents was measured via Beck Anxiety Inventory. The study also aimed to examine how bruxism affected the quality of life in children. For that purpose, Pediatric Oral Health-related Quality of Life (POQL) Scale was applied to the children and their parents. In addition, the correlation between sociodemographic characteristics such as parental conditions, economic and family conditions, number of children in family and the presence of bruxism was evaluated. As a result of the study, it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the study and control groups in terms of maternal education, paternal education, economic and family conditions and number of children in family. Anxiety levels of the children and parents were found to be statistically similar in the study and control groups. There is a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of oral health-related quality of life (child form) scores, and the oral health-related quality of life in the control group was determined to be lower than the study group. Keywords: Anxiety, bruxism, quality of life